SOVIET UNION: Art v. Politics

Soviet artists have long chafed under
ideological commands that they stick to the rigid canons of socialist
realism, and have flirted with such decadent Western forms as abstract
expressionism and even pop art. Works in these styles obviously cannot
be sold openly in Russia, but there is a well-established private
market for them among discreet collectors, including many senior
officials in the Foreign Ministry, scientific institutes and
universities. Many of the painters would like to make that market
public. Last week 20 Moscow artists tried to bring abstract art out of...